CG replacement on new Daylights?

[edrep]

Lately we see a lot of post about the new A7753 based Daylight. It seems that the only 'big' tell is the CG that needs some reworking. I think I read somewhere that a normal replacement CG from the obvious suppliers doesnt fit. Has somebody already tried this or do you know if someone is already working on one that do fit?

Would be a great upgrade for the ones who have less skills with the scotch pad....

Edited October 26, 2010 by edrep

[PeteM]

Lately we see a lot of post about the new A7753 based Daylight. It seems that the only 'big' tell is the CG that needs some reworking. I think I read somewhere that a normal replacement CG from the obvious suppliers doesnt fit. Has somebody already tried this or do you know if someone is already working on one that do fit?

Would be a great upgrade for the ones who have less skills with the scotch pad....

If your not happy with your CG, though I am not sure why? Then send it to Domi or Zig depending.

Overall the current ones dont really need much work however if your on about the lever protruding this is more related to the Oring in the crown being too big and the pin sleeve is very soft.

The finish is very presentable without mods mate IMHO.

Only the anal PAM guys would do mods And if your reading this then Yes D I am talking about you .....

No matter where you source the CG, if you can, it will always need modding in some way!

[w0lf]

I'm as particular as they come but we've arrived at the point of diminishing returns for anything other than a movement service and a relume for these models.

If the CG is bothering you, swap the o-ring gasket in the crown for a thinner one to get the lever under control. Maybe mill and polish the top of CG pin flat and give it a bit of a bend to get it to sit more flush with the case. Other than that - no need to bother.

[briank996]

It takes me about 3-4 hours to get it looking like this..

Sandpaper, dremel, needle file, scotch brand scrubbing pad, painters tape, bracelet pin remover, blue loctite, screwdriver.

Although it was a better looking CG to begin with, it made a big difference to me. Very much worth the time/effort/cost.

good before and after here...

[w0lf]

excellent job, Brian!

[babola]

Only the anal PAM guys would do mods And if your reading this then Yes D I am talking about you .....

Oi! Who you calling names, eh!?

I'll hold this one against you mate...

[babola]

Lately we see a lot of post about the new A7753 based Daylight. It seems that the only 'big' tell is the CG that needs some reworking. I think I read somewhere that a normal replacement CG from the obvious suppliers doesnt fit. Has somebody already tried this or do you know if someone is already working on one that do fit?

Would be a great upgrade for the ones who have less skills with the scotch pad....

I wouldn't worry much about it matey...it's nearly perfect as is.

According to Andrew (Trusty) factories aren't interested in making a CG-fix or new CG altogether.

He noted that this has been by far the best selling rep model of his this year and at that rate the Noob mariner factory has some major difficulties with keeping up with demand, as is.

99% of rep buyers and folk out there don't even notice that little flaw, and that's what keeps those guys from Guangzhou happy, not a handful of picky rep collectors like us

[cskent69]

It takes me about 2 hours to get it looking like this..

Sandpaper, dremel, needle file, scotch brand scrubbing pad, painters tape, bracelet pin remover, blue loctite, screwdriver.

Although it was a better looking CG to begin with, it made a big difference to me. Very much worth the time/effort/cost.

good before and after here...

Damn - that looks great. You should provide this as a service.

[Eton]

Nice work!!!

[BuyersRemorse]

Brian, would you please tell us how you did that wonderful modification.

My Lever seriously needs some rework too.

[babola]

Brian, would you please tell us how you did that wonderful modification.

My Lever seriously needs some rework too.

Not for faint hearted but definitely doable...Daylight CG mod

Good luck!

[w0lf]

B,

I heard the same thing from Connie, actually the quality might be getting worse for a while because the demand is so high. They are certainly not interested in V2 or anything because there aren't enough watches, especially in the new rubber-deploy configuration. She told me she had to go through several watches herself before even presenting me with QC pics. I was purchasing a 236 just a couple of days ago for a friend.

At this rate I seriously doubt there will be any adjustments until things settle down. Actually, I suspect this is why we're not seeing any new models. The 187 and manual wind models have all been pushed back because they want to reach a saturation point with this model first.

[kuli]

Pam ppl are too picky.

[PeteM]

Pam ppl are too picky.

I prefer to call us 'Particular' or is it 'Peculiar' I cant remember

[PeteM]

It takes me about 2 hours to get it looking like this..

Sandpaper, dremel, needle file, scotch brand scrubbing pad, painters tape, bracelet pin remover, blue loctite, screwdriver.

You forgot to mention the sandwiches and flask plus the egg whisk!!

No hold on I am getting confused that egg whisk is for another DIY job I do

[BuyersRemorse]

Brian: I just bought a "Satin Brush Refinishing Pen".

Can't wait for it to arrive and to start the Mod.

Just one Question ... I would like to combine that mod with the "Rubber-Inlay-In-Lever-Hole"-Mode from Repgeek to make it sit more tightened.

What will I do?

- Do the rubber Mod.

- Afterwards? File down the top of the lever to make it flush and then make the refinish? (Or do I have to shaver the lever itself)

What if I replace the crown with a SL T48 later on. Will the mod be compatible with that?

[w0lf]

sl48 will not work because of:

- hex tube

- it's shallow so the lever wont close

[BuyersRemorse]

Wolf so there is no Way of adding a SL crown to the 250's at all?

What about drilling a larger hole for a new Tube? And didnt T have also the flat crowns?

[PeteM]

Brian: I just bought a "Satin Brush Refinishing Pen".

Can't wait for it to arrive and to start the Mod.

I wouldnt suggest using that mate for the CG seriously you will not get the finish needed for a PAM brush. You could make it worse IMHO

Have you seen Houndoggie How to or any of the other threads for doing this mate ? Its not the way I would do it but its a good basis for doing the mod.

There are also lots of ways to mod CG fixing pin sleeve have you seen these ? All the crowns have cups mateTs option depend on gen or rep CG

[Guest Sql_pl]

250 comes with great crown from factory. Absolutely no need to mod that. And its lever has rubber in it already so one more thing off the list.

[PeteM]

250 comes with great crown from factory. Absolutely no need to mod that. And its lever has rubber in it already so one more thing off the list.

I agree but the pin sleeve is soft which makes some of the CG levers push out slightly (even after the Oring has been sorted in the crown) though it can be hardened very simply

[briank996]

I would definately nix the scratch pen in favor of the Scotch pad, the pen won't give you the correct finish as Pete mentioned earlier.

I don't like bending the CG for two reasons...

It takes tension off of the lever that is needed to maintain an 'oem' feel while opening and closing. If you take enough tension off so the lever doesn't protrude, the lever will just barely make contact with the crown.

The other reason is that you're changing the geometry of the cutout on the CG. Instead of having a nice perfectly square cut-out, you may end up with a weird angle that doesn't look any better than the protruding lever did.

My approach is basically this...

Remove the CG and manually file each contact point to attain good fittament. I use a small flat needle file, a little goes a long way. File, test fit, file, test fit, file, test fit.

Once I was happy with the fit, I moved on to dealing with the lever...

Attach the CG to the watch, apply some tape to the CG just above and below the lever (to protect the finish of the CG while grinding the lever)

Under lighted magnification, I use the dremel to grind the lever down until it's flush with the CG.

And once that's done, it's time to flush the pin..

Push the underside of the CG pin until the pin is ever so slightly protruding from the top of the CG. (Just a tiny little bit)

Use some sandpaper (in the same direction as the matte finish has been applied) to basically shear off that little protruding bit of pin. This will leave you with a pin that is completely flat and flush with the top of the CG.

Use the dremmel to polish the top of the pin while it's still in the CG. You'll end up polising the CG as well but it doesn't matter.

Remove the pin and set aside.

Take the CG and lever and refinish to a brushed surface.

Reasseble and reinstall.

It's certainly easier said than done and I've screwed up a lot of watches in the process of becoming good at this.

I'd be happy to provide this as a service to anyone interested. Just send me a PM.

[edrep]

I started this topic since a am going to buy a PAM 251 and the (non the best quality) pictures showed me a lever that was sticking out. I started searching for it and found out that there was a bit more info on CG issue and there were several topics (on other fora) from people asking for a QC for their pictures. So it is a known issue.

In all the replies you see others struggling with it as well and solutions are given. However I have to left hands and cant do it myself, indeed I could send it out to domi (I think I should send it to him since I live in the EU) but then I have to wait several others weeks before wearing it. I thought ordering the watch and at the same time order a CG would solve this. I understand that the current factory isnt offering a spare one but why is diffent one (from Toro, SNembp etc) not fitting?

[babola]

I don't like bending the CG for two reasons...

It takes tension off of the lever that is needed to maintain an 'oem' feel while opening and closing. If you take enough tension off so the lever doesn't protrude, the lever will just barely make contact with the crown.

All good points Brian, as well common sense when it comes to Panerai watches in general.

However, in the case of the latest Daylight rep, I'm still pro 'lifting' the CG profile off the case in favour of other options. As most of us know by now, these models come with a little fault (or few) around the CG assembly, as new from factory. The crown tube is slightly longer and even without the o-ring seal inside the crown when lever is closed it still creates a noticeable tension against the bare metal of the crown underside and ultimately on the lever. Installing a thinner o-ring seal helped a little but not completely addressed the pressure issue. Another little issues is the CG pin sleeve which is made of very soft rubber, which gives way to even slightest of pressures between the crown and the lever.

This is however in my own experience, and I handled and moded 7 of those so far, 2 of my own ones and 5 for colleagues and friends rep collectors. All 7 were the same in this respect. I'd say 95% of them would have this issue, with your 236 you might have been the fortunate one

The CG "squeeze" isn't foolproof technique, I definitely agree. But it worked for me for two reasons, one - the feet now perfectly match the curvature of the case and two - the artificial tension that's transferred from the crown tube to the lever tip on a new Daylight rep is definitely gone. There's still a nice pressure provided by the combination of the crown spring and o-ring seal, and there's a nice solid audible 'click' when closing the lever, just like the gen.

As far as the changing geometry of the CG is concerned, you actually made me remove one from my Daylight and measure the top and bottom of the CG cavity with digi calipers, the diff is miniscule, few microns if any, not visible by the naked eye anyway.

That said, I wouldn't suggest any kind of modding of the CG to anyone without good nerves, steady hand, proper tools and technique...just as you, this isn't my first mod and I've destroyed many rep parts in the past until I reached a satisafactory results in modding. Using a hand needle file on the CG feet is definitely for the most skilled out there...so caution is advised. Using vice to squeze the CG ends to the correct and acceptable shape comes close second

cheers,

b

[briank996]

All good points Brian, as well common sense when it comes to Panerai watches in general.

However, in the case of the latest Daylight rep, I'm still pro 'lifting' the CG profile off the case in favour of other options. As most of us know by now, these models come with a little fault (or few) around the CG assembly, as new from factory. The crown tube is slightly longer and even without the o-ring seal inside the crown when lever is closed it still creates a noticeable tension against the bare metal of the crown underside and ultimately on the lever. Installing a thinner o-ring seal helped a little but not completely addressed the pressure issue. Another little issues is the CG pin sleeve which is made of very soft rubber, which gives way to even slightest of pressures between the crown and the lever.

This is however in my own experience, and I handled and moded 7 of those so far, 2 of my own ones and 5 for colleagues and friends rep collectors. All 7 were the same in this respect. I'd say 95% of them would have this issue, with your 236 you might have been the fortunate one

The CG "squeeze" isn't foolproof technique, I definitely agree. But it worked for me for two reasons, one - the feet now perfectly match the curvature of the case and two - the artificial tension that's transferred from the crown tube to the lever tip on a new Daylight rep is definitely gone. There's still a nice pressure provided by the combination of the crown spring and o-ring seal, and there's a nice solid audible 'click' when closing the lever, just like the gen.

As far as the changing geometry of the CG is concerned, you actually made me remove one from my Daylight and measure the top and bottom of the CG cavity with digi calipers, the diff is miniscule, few microns if any, not visible by the naked eye anyway.

That said, I wouldn't suggest any kind of modding of the CG to anyone without good nerves, steady hand, proper tools and technique...just as you, this isn't my first mod and I've destroyed many rep parts in the past until I reached a satisafactory results in modding. Using a hand needle file on the CG feet is definitely for the most skilled out there...so caution is advised. Using vice to squeze the CG ends to the correct and acceptable shape comes close second

cheers,

b

Agreed. Either way could bring great success or complete failure

On the geometry, I agree that in most cases, the bend should not be seen with a naked eye. The problem for me is that since I would have done the bending, I would know that it's bent, even by microns. My brain knows it's bent and it bothers me, gets exaggerated and before ya know it, I'm just not wearing the watch anymore. It may not have ever been straight, but my perception is all that matters at that point. I know, it's very OCD. The reality is, it will never be perfect but sometimes I get lucky and become satisfied for a short period of time.

Every case is going to be a bit different, any combination of any of these techniques are great tools and add great value to the forum.